Seeking an opportunity to load up on races, the Bucknell Men visited Ithaca where each boat raced twice in the span of a few hours. Its competitors included the Cornell Lightweights, Hobart College and Ithaca College. As the lone club program, Bucknell entered the morning with a chip on its shoulder.
The first slate of racing matched Bucknell against the Cornell Lightweights. Anticipating a team that would be elite off the line, Bucknell’s game plan was very much the same for each boat: throw the kitchen sink at the first half of the race and race the clock throughout the second half. Ultimately Cornell would establish an early, comfortable lead in each race except one, the 2nd Varsity 8+. Stroked by sophomore Luke Lambropoulos, the 2v generated a long yet upbeat tempo to begin the race. Through the first 500m, the boat found itself up by half of a length. The crew clung to a slim lead 950m in, but that advantage would quickly evaporate over the course of the final three minutes. While Cornell decisively won, the Bucknell 2v put up a brave effort to challenge them for as long as they could.
The second slate of racing matched Bucknell against various contenders based on times from the morning. The 1v traded bow balls with Ithaca through the first half of its race and pulled away in the third 500m to finish ahead by two seconds. The 2v was assigned Hobart, a strong contender at IRAs every June. Similar to the morning, the boat blasted off the line. This time, however, it would walk away and win by nine seconds. Determined to complete the sweep in the big boats, the 3v would race the Ithaca 2v. Despite its lower “boat designation”, the 3v felt as though they could take down Ithaca if they started aggressive and maintained that mindset through the halfway point. Indeed they did, crossing the line six seconds ahead. The 4+ closed the day versus Ithaca and while it did not walk away with the win, several novice rowers collected more strokes at race cadence, an experience that should pay off come ACRAs this May.
Next weekend, Bucknell will travel to Cherry Hill, NJ where it will compete at the Knecht Cup and have another go at main rivals Michigan and Virginia.
Varsity 8+ (AM)
Cornell LWT – 6:07.4
Bucknell – 6:36.7
Varsity 8+ (PM)
Bucknell – 6:36.1
Ithaca – 6:38.8
2nd Varsity 8+ (AM)
Cornell LWT – 6:23.1
Bucknell – 6:42.6
2nd Varsity 8+ (PM)
Bucknell – 6:53.9
Hobart – 7:02.5
3rd Varsity 8+ (AM)
Cornell LWT – 6:19.8
Bucknell – 6:50.8
3rd Varsity 8+ (PM)
Bucknell – 7:08.5
Ithaca 2v – 7:14.3
4+ (AM)
Cornell LWT – 7:12.8
Bucknell – 8:47.6
4+ (PM)
Ithaca – 8:42.1
Bucknell – 9:17.5
Lineups:
1st Varsity 8 – Class of 2020
Coxswain: Max Silverman, Sr.
Stroke: Phil Onffroy, Sr.
7: Andrew Viola, So.
6: Zach Gerhardt, So.
5: Conor McNichols, Fr.
4: Jack Fiala, Jr.
3: Kevin Carney, So.
2: Thomas Stone, Sr.
Bow: Luca Arvanitis, Fr.
2nd Varsity 8 – Class of 1985
Coxswain: Izzy Mersky, So.
Stroke: Luke Lambropoulos, So.
7: Dirk Puleo, Fr.
6: Ryan Spallone, Fr.
5: Christian Sieck, Sr.
4: Andy Thompson, Fr.
3: Nick Caravias, Sr.
2: Sen Zelov, Fr.
Bow: Aaron Swope, Sr.
3rd Varsity 8 – Trustee Challenge
Coxswain: Emma Minadeo, Jr.
Stroke: Aidan DeWitt, Fr.
7: Nathan Peot, So.
6: Brian Skeels, Jr.
5: Dan Van Syckle, Jr.
4: Will Amrhein, So.
3: Ryan Daly, So.
2: Mason Cametas, Jr.
Bow: Brent Mankin, Jr.
4+
Stroke: Miles Kline, Fr.
3: Ze-Nable Adisalem, Fr.
2: Will Kernodle, Fr.
Bow: Cian Nowak, Sr.
Coxswain: Ben Weggeland, Jr.